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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Melcher - Dallas (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Melcher - Dallas. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Melcher - Dallas is located in Marion County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Marion County: Jasper, Lucas, Mahaska, Monroe, Polk, Poweshiek & Warren.

Below are the counties that are near Melcher - Dallas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Melcher - Dallas:

  • Marion County     (The home county of Melcher - Dallas)
  • Appanoose County
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melcher - Dallas, with the one closest to Melcher - Dallas listed first.
    • Liberty
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Woodburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodburn
      • Woodburn is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodburn <1>
    • Osceola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Decatur County
    • Le Roy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Le Roy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
      • Le Roy is located in Decatur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Le Roy
      • From Melcher - Dallas to Le Roy
  • Jasper County
  • Lucas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melcher - Dallas, with the one closest to Melcher - Dallas listed first.
    • Williamson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamson
      • Williamson is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamson <1>
    • Olmitz
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olmitz have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olmitz
      • Olmitz is located in Lucas County
    • Chariton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chariton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chariton
      • Chariton is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,103 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chariton <1>
    • Russell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Russell is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Russell <1>
    • Zero
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zero. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zero
      • Zero is located in Lucas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zero
      • From Melcher - Dallas to Zero
    • Lucas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Derby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Derby is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
  • Madison County
    • Saint Charles
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
      • Saint Charles is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 656 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Charles <1>
  • Mahaska County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melcher - Dallas, with the one closest to Melcher - Dallas listed first.
    • Lovilia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lovilia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilia
      • Lovilia is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lovilia <1>
    • Melrose
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Georgetown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bluff Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Albia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Avery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
      • Avery is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Avery
      • From Melcher - Dallas to Avery
    • Selection
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selection have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selection
      • Selection is located in Monroe County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melcher - Dallas, with the one closest to Melcher - Dallas listed first.
    • Runnells
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Carlisle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Adelphi
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adelphi. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
      • Adelphi is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Adelphi
      • From Melcher - Dallas to Adelphi
    • Levey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Levey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
      • Levey is located in Polk County
    • Pleasant Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Rising Sun
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Norwalk
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <1>
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melcher - Dallas, with the one closest to Melcher - Dallas listed first.
    • Lacona
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Milo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Sandyville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Clarkson ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
      • Clarkson is located in Warren County
    • Liberty Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Ackworth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Palmyra
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cool
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cool. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
      • Cool is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cool
      • From Melcher - Dallas to Cool
    • Hartford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Hartford is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <1>
    • Indianola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • New Virginia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Saint Marys
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Marys have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
      • Saint Marys is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melcher - Dallas, with the one closest to Melcher - Dallas listed first.
    • Confidence
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Millerton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Wayne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Humeston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Melcher - Dallas, see our County-by-County Page for Melcher - Dallas.

Cemeteries Near Melcher - Dallas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melcher - Dallas.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Melcher - Dallas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Melcher - Dallas, with the one closest to Melcher - Dallas listed first.

  • Fairview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Arian Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dallas Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dallas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dallas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tickel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tickel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tickel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nephus Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nephus Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nephus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Saint Josephs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gosport Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Stickle Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stickle Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stickle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Coloma Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coloma Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coloma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Strong Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Strong Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Strong Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (337 more) ...
    • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cochran Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cochran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cochran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Willis Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willis Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

While we didn't find Melcher - Dallas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Melcher - Dallas.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Melcher - Dallas, with the one closest to Melcher - Dallas listed first.

  • Bauer
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Cloud
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloud have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloud
    • Cloud is located in Marion County
  • Gosport
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gosport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosport
    • Gosport is located in Marion County
  • Caloma
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caloma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caloma
    • Caloma is located in Marion County
  • Newbern
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Columbia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Belinda
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belinda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belinda
    • Belinda is located in Lucas County
  • Lacona
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Knoxville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
    • Oakley is located in Lucas County
  • Olmitz
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olmitz have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olmitz
    • Olmitz is located in Lucas County
  • Attica
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Melcher - Dallas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Melcher - Dallas.

Newspapers Published in Melcher - Dallas ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melcher - Dallas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melcher - Dallas, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melcher - Dallas.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Melcher - Dallas:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Melcher - Dallas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Melcher - Dallas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2262, Longitude: -93.2411    
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Melcher - Dallas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.